Five Indian students selected for Rhodes scholarship 2025; meet the scholars

What is Rhodes Scholarship

They volition beryllium heading to the University of Oxford successful October 2025 to articulation a cohort of much than a 100 scholars from astir the satellite to undertake afloat funded postgraduate studies.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest postgraduate fellowship, based astatine the University of Oxford since 1903. The scholarships for India began successful 1947 and have been awarded to 5 applicants each year. Students from anyplace successful the satellite tin use for a Rhodes Scholarship.

The Rhodes enactment process aims to take young radical with proven world excellence who besides amusement exceptional character, leadership, vigor to usage their talents to the afloat and a committedness to solving humanity’s challenges. The enactment process includes a rigorous reappraisal process earlier the last interview, with a enactment committee composed of experts and leaders successful divers fields.

Applications for the 2026 Rhodes Scholarships volition unfastened successful June 2025. More accusation astir the assistance exertion beryllium recovered astatine the authoritative website — rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/apply.

Meet the Rhodes Scholars-Elect

Rayan Chakrabarti

Rayan is completing his Master’s astatine the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He holds an undergraduate grade successful lit from St Stephen’s College. His enactment lies astatine the intersection of representation studies, captious heritage, and anthropology. At Oxford, helium is funny successful gathering and moving connected an archive and depository of the Covid-19 pandemic and its interaction successful South Asia.

He is simply a trained pianist and loves penning and translating poesy that centres astir authorities and nationhood.

Vibha Swaminathan

Vibha Swaminathan is simply a last twelvemonth instrumentality student, pursuing LLB (Hons) astatine the National Law School, Bangalore. She besides holds a BA (Hons) successful Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She is funny successful studying the governmental and ineligible fragilities of citizenship regimes, and hopes to harvester this world engagement with a quality rights litigation signifier earlier proceedings courts successful India.

Avanish Vats

Avanish is from Ranchi and has completed his bachelors successful Philosophy from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He conducted probe connected accessibility successful acquisition and healthcare for disabled individuals successful Jharkhand, nether the State Disability Commissioner’s bureau successful Ranchi. He is besides the 3rd student with a ocular impairment to person been elected from India.

He is simply a Tabla subordinate and has written and directed abbreviated films. His world interests see epistemology and making doctrine accessible to disabled people.

Shubham Narwal

Shubham Narwal is pursuing a Bachelor’s successful Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry astatine ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly. Growing up successful the National Dairy Research Institute sparked an involvement successful studying Veterinary Science. He volition present prosecute an MSc successful Clinical Embryology and research caller conservation strategies for the critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard. Shubham is the archetypal Indian scholar-elect from veterinary medicine.

Besides his passionateness for volunteering successful quality conservation organisations, helium likes Harry Potter and is simply a hoops enthusiast.

Pal Aggarwal

Pal Aggarwal is simply a last twelvemonth BTech Engineering Physics pupil astatine IIT Bombay. Her world travel has been driven by a deep-seated involvement successful astrophysics, mathematics and information science, having worked with researchers astatine the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics.

At Oxford, she wants to survey high-energy astrophysics, striving towards her imagination of becoming an astronaut and advocating for women successful science.

She is besides a trained Bharatnatyam and modern dancer.